I’d like to tell you about some changes we’re making to Schools Week, coming into effect in June.
Since the newspaper’s launch in September 2014, we’ve always been brave with our approach to providing you with high-quality, independent, investigative and balanced education journalism.
We’ve come a long way in these four years, but we wouldn’t be here today without the support of our loyal and growing readership – so thank you. Our website now receives on average half a million hits every month, while around 15,000 people read the weekly edition in print and online.
Since becoming interim editor at the start of the year, I’ve thought a lot about how we can improve our news services while maintaining a sustainable product. I’ve been working with our team on some exciting developments, which I hope you’ll enjoy.
o Weekly edition| Friday’s edition of Schools Week will be its last in print. A new weekly digital newspaper will be launched on Friday, June 8.
o Since launching a digital-only subscription option, a high volume of subscribers have opted to switch to digital only. Rising print and postage costs mean that a print version is becoming too expensive to sustain. We could simply increase our prices, but at a time when budgets are tight for schools, we do not believe this would be a fair option.
o Many subscribers currently access the digital pdf on a Friday morning. We have been working to perfect this digital edition to enhance our readers’ experience. So while our current production model is print first, the main focus of Schools Week in the future will be to ensure the very best digital product.
o We will be increasing the amount of extra content in the digital edition that exists exclusively for subscribers.
o We will be launching a new subscription pricing model for the digital newspaper. Rest assured, however, that it will still be published each Friday during term time. We will also, where required, release additional free editions during holiday periods.
- One year (37 editions) | £40
- One term (12 editions)| £22
- 4 editions | £10
- Website | Over the past five months we’ve been developing a whole new website and brand. We will be launching the site on Tuesday, alongside which our new branding will also go live. The enhancements to the website will make accessing the SchoolsWeek website easier for readers on all devices.
o We are committed to keeping the site free of charge – there will be no paywalls.
- Recruitment advertising | SchoolsWeek’s recruitment advertising offer, Education Week Jobs, has grown in popularity over the past 18 months. Our new publishing structure will allow us to significantly reduce the cost of advertising job vacancies. We recognise that recruitment advertising is costly, and we are committed to providing a cost-effective and affordable alternative. Recruitment advertising simply should not costs thousands of pounds.
o Next month our new pricing model will be launched: online job listings will be available from £95, adverts in the digital edition will start from £395 and will include free featured online job listings.
o Further information will be released in June.
My time as editor of Schools Week will soon be coming to an end and I will be returning to my position as the publisher. I have appointed a new full-time editor for the paper, and they will take up the role in time for the next academic year starting in September. We will be announcing their identity in June.
I love Schools Week and am extremely proud of what we have achieved. Thank you for your loyal and continued readership. I look forward to watching the product grow over the coming years.
If you have any questions please do get in touch.
Once again thank you for your continued readership and best of luck in the final weeks before summer.
Shane Mann is managing editor (interim) and publisher of Schools Week
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